Back To Zero
by sevenohseven
Summary: AU- Alex and Piper met at a TV show they're working together as a writer and an actress and have fallen in love with each other. One call from home and a hasty goodbye then changed the two women's lives with one feeling like she should just give up and the other feels like she's missing someone after waking up from a deep sleep.
1. Chapter 1

Piper Chapman rubs the bridge of her nose as she crosses the street. The building she's supposed to go to is getting closer and she couldn't help but feel the excitement coming back to her.

This is the first time she's been given a part as one of the main casts and today is the day where she will be meeting the rest of the crew that she'll be working alongside with. She shifts her shoulder bag to her right shoulder and pulls open the door that leads to the main entrance.

She turns right out of the main lobby and towards the rows of elevators since she was told that the meeting will be on the 15th floor. One of the elevator doors was open and she hastens her pace to catch up before the door closes.

"Wait!" she calls out to the woman with raven hair who's wearing a white blouse and black skinny jeans with a leather jacket on which the blonde finds sexy as hell.

Piper mumbles a hurried thank you when the woman waited for her to get in. The blonde didn't get to notice more about the other person in the elevator once she got in as she tries to fix her hair up because of how disheveled it is. Brought to you by the New York City wind.

"You're welcome," came the husky voice of the woman next to her and is echoing in the small cramped up space.

Piper turns her head to smile at the woman but stops midway when her eyes lands on her face. Now the blonde has seen a lot of beautiful women in her life and better yet, she even dated some of them but the woman she's with now might take the icing on the cake because… wow.

She tries to lean over the tall woman just so she can try to gauge what color her eyes were and curses herself because the raven haired woman was wearing glasses. She then blushes when she realizes that she was talking to her all this time.

"I'm sorry what?"

The woman smiles with her point finger hovering over the buttons and the blonde feels stupid for not even listening, "I was asking what floor you're going to."

Piper feels her cheeks getting warm as she answers the woman because that voice was like the sexiest thing she's ever heard from a human being.

She turns back towards the doors after answering her question but then the woman went back to looking at her.

"I'm sorry but are you Piper Chapman?"

The blonde looks at her warily because she's not really that famous yet since she's only done two indie films and a flopped commercial she did a year ago that involves with a medicine and hemorrhoid (don't ask). She nods in affirmation and the raven-haired woman extends her right hand to shake.

"My name's Alex Vause. I'm actually one of the writers on this show."

Piper nods as a smile spreads across her face. Not because she just met a writer but because she already has a name to the face, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Vause."

Alex rolls her eyes and scoffs at the name, "Please just call me Alex. I feel like I'm older than my mom if someone calls me that."

The blonde furrows her eyebrows as she looks quizzically at Alex. "She's a single mother so most people call her Ms. Vause."

She nods her head in understanding with her mouth shaped into an O. "So is this your first time being a writer or have you written other shows before?"

"This is my first time actually. I won this competition back in Atlanta where the grand prize was to become one of the writers in a show they were working on."

And by 'They' Piper understands immediately that Alex was talking about the creators of the said show namely Samantha Ryan and her husband Seth Ryan. She nods, amazed at what the woman just said.

They stepped out once the elevator came to a stop on the 15th floor and Piper takes a deep breath as she puts her game face on.

* * *

><p>Alex Vause knows a lot of books and can decipher poems without even asking for someone else's help. But what she's really good at is making something out of nothing.<p>

Writing was her escape from reality and she enjoys it very much. When she was young, her mother Diane Vause would knock on her door once she'll notice that her daughter hasn't come down from her bedroom the whole day and to find the raven haired girl in her desk writing a short story.

Now all grown up, Alex was just in the city of Atlanta with her best friend Nicky for a small road trip they planned ever since they were 15 years old.

She just graduated from college with Alex majoring in creative writing with a minor in history at Columbia University while Nicky went to OSU and took up computer science.

While walking around Atlanta the two saw a flyer about a writing competition and with a little push from Nicky, she agreed to join since they weren't planning on doing anything else in the city.

To say she was shock was an understatement when she won the grand prize because she was given also given an opportunity to write in a show that the judges were planning on making next year.

Shock turned to glee when she heard that the show will be shot in New Jersey which is only a couple of minutes away from New York, where she's currently living in.

Of course, she's really from a small town back in Ohio with her mother but moved to New York when she got a job in a publication company. It was hard at first because everything she loves dearly is back in Ohio but ever since Nicky moved and roomed with Alex things became a bit bearable for her.

Nicky is working as a secretary in a Law firm that her stepfather made a few arrangements in as being a friend to one of the lawyers working in that firm. Alex laughed at her best friend's face when she was being informed of where the ginger-haired woman would be working in and teasing her about 'Finally following the authorities even if she's just working with them' which earned her a punch to her biceps.

The first time she met all of the actors, she hit it off with Danny Wlliams, the leading man of the show but what really caught her eye was Piper Chapman.

The blonde has a grace in every movement she makes and the taller woman just can't keep her eyes off of her. Back at the elevator when the blonde blushed, she couldn't stop and think at how endearing it was but what makes Alex much more drawn to Piper was how she smiles. It was as if it could light up the whole entire room.

"You alright?"

Alex jumps and looks at Danny who's looking at her with concern while leaning slightly to get a better look at the young writer.

They were at the corner of the room just observing the interactions happening around them. She clears her throat and shifts to her right foot.

"Yeah I'm good. Just trying to think of what else I can write for the upcoming episodes."

Danny straightens himself and nods. Alex does find him attractive, I mean, who doesn't? He's got those ice blue eyes that looks like it can just take anyone's breath away with him just staring, those defined jaw, brown hair, fit body and topping it all off with his 6 foot 3 inch height. But he just wasn't her type mainly from the waist down.

"Yeah well, she can do that with any person she comes across with."

"What do you mean?"

The actor shrugs and crosses his arms with Alex trying not to look at Piper again.

"Because it's her presence, you see? It's like she demands attention from the people around her. Not to mention her penchant for saying what's on her mind. Got her into a lot of trouble with that mouth of hers."

Alex sighs and adjusts her frames, she's getting bored with the entire 'getting-to-know-you' thing and she just wishes she can get out of here before one of the cameramen would hit on her again. She's already had two invitations for a coffee and she might hit someone if there'll be a third one.

Danny leans in again and whispers to her ear, "I know I'm supposed to brush my shoulder and try to befriend the Directors so I can get a new gig after this fucking show but I'm seriously considering on killing myself right now."

Alex grins and whispers back, "You have no idea on how much I want to strangle one of the cameramen for looking at my breasts this whole entire time."

The actor sighs and looks at the cameraman who Alex was referring to and sighs, "Aw shit. That is so fucking gross. Wanna go out and smoke some joint?"

The raven haired woman looks up at the ceiling as she feels relief for the first time since the meeting. She then realizes she hasn't given an answer to Danny yet and so she lets out a relieved, "Hell yes!"

* * *

><p>What was supposed to be a smoking some joint turned into coffee with Danny and Piper who caught up with them when she saw the two making a graceful exit.<p>

"What do you mean by graceful exit, Chapman? We were like fucking ninjas!" The actor air quoted the words graceful.

The blonde rolls her eyes and Alex can see that the two knew each other from a previous engagement just by how familiar they were in making fun of each other. "If you call that being all ninja-like then why was Seth asking where the two of you were going?"

Danny opens his mouth to answer but comes up with nothing and points a finger at Piper, "Well _you _left!"

"Because Seth said there was no point in prolonging the meeting when his writer and main actor disappeared so he made us all go home."

Alex scoffs at the idea at just how easy it was if they left earlier so Seth can dismiss them. As they sat at the coffee shop, she learned that Piper and Danny do know each other because they were classmates in high school and was at the same acting workshop.

She also got to learn that Piper graduated at Smith's and immediately got her acting gig in a small play while Danny didn't go to college and opting for the old cliché by being a waiter and going from one audition to another.

The writer also found out that not only can Piper demand attention without asking for it but she likes to read too and make intelligent conversations as much as she can.

A while after, Alex was surprised when Danny looks at his watch and began to scramble for his jacket while pulling out money from his wallet, "Oh damn, I gotta run. My girlfriend wants me to pick up Dominic from the daycare center."

Alex looks at Piper quizzically, at a lost as to who this Dominic is. "Danny's kid. They had him when this stupid head forgot to wear a condom."

"Well that stupid head got an acting gig," Danny says while glaring at the blonde who's trying to stifle her laughter, "and it was a fucking accident! We were too drunk and I might've used the condom as a toilet paper when I had to go-"

"Oh my God! Just stop right there or I might throw up if you continue on with that story!" Alex says as the actor just grins and hugs Piper goodbye while shaking the taller woman's hand yet again.

After he was gone Piper turns to Alex with a small smile on her lips, "So it's just the two of us right now, huh?"

Alex slowly nods as she tries to keep her hands warm by holding her cup of coffee. She looks up and smiles back at the blonde, "Yeah. Just us."


	2. Chapter 2

_I was happy to see the follows, favorites and reviews. Keep it coming guys. It's one of the few inspirations a writer can have._

* * *

><p>"So I was thinking maybe Sarah should have a competition for Mike, 'ya know?"<p>

Alex eyebrows shot up with what the Director, Mr. Paul Barker said to her. They were standing at the furthest part of the set while the actors and actresses were getting retouched with their makeup artists.

"But Paul, you do know this is a comedy right? I mean Danny and Piper's character just got together and I don't think having a new love interest would make the viewers happy."

Paul sighs as he hears the writer's concerns he knows she has a lot of potential but at the same time, she's also still trying to learn the ropes of being in the entertainment industry.

He places his hand on her shoulder and looks at her right in the eye, "I know it's new but that's what the audience would want. They like to be put on a pedestal without really knowing why they're there and it's not like it'll be a dead end. We have a new actress coming in next week so this one should be short."

Alex nods her head. She's not really against the idea but it's more about the part where she has already finished the script and adding another scene means she'll have to tweak some of the scenes she's already written for what could be the biggest scandal in the show yet.

She adjusts her glasses and looks at the script again with her mind already playing out what the scene should be.

As she tries to come up with something, she didn't notice the blonde haired woman already walking towards her with a smile on her lips.

"Hey!"

Piper laughs when Alex jumps and turns towards her with her right hand placed on her chest. The raven haired woman sighs as she expels the breath she's been holding.

"Damn it, Piper! I thought I told you not to creep up on me like that!"

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. You're just so funny when you're scared."

Alex rolls her eyes as she walks towards the nearest chair with a table and sat down, "At least you can find something funny with it. How are your lines coming?"

The blonde stops laughing and sits down next to Alex. She places both of her elbows on the table as the raven haired woman begins to write some of the scenes where she thinks the added actress can be put in.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you." Was the clip reply of Alex as she scratches out the part where she wants Danny's character to receive a letter from his ex-girlfriend.

Piper leans on her chair and nods as she looks at the set once more where some of the props were being moved for the next scene.

"You know I wasn't expecting that this show would be popular after the first season."

Alex looks up from the paper and raises her eyebrow at the blonde, "You mean you thought that this was gonna be a big flop?"

The blonde nods as she tears her eyes away from the set to the woman sitting next to her, "Pretty much so. I mean from all of the films I was in not even one," she puts up one finger in the air for emphasis, "had me pack my suitcase and travel in some parts of Europe just so I can make an appearance."

Alex laughs and goes back with her work as the blonde just looks at her. It made the writer squirm a little in her seat.

"What color are your eyes?"

Alex stops midway from writing and shifts her eyes to the actress, "I'm sorry what?"

Piper grins and shrugs as she shifts on her seat to lean further to the writer who backs a little bit as the blonde stares at her eyes.

Alex's nose was met with a sweet aroma to which she concludes that the blonde's using strawberry shampoo which is really addicting.

"After one season I still can't decide on whether or not it's green, ice blue or grey."

Her eyebrows raise at the blonde's admission and smirks at her, "It's green. I got it from my mom."

The actress nods and returns to leaning on the back of her seat and Alex releases the breath she's been holding from having the blonde so close.

They hear the Director clap his hands and shouts in the small space of the room, "Okay, let's all get ready for the next scene! Everybody be in your respective places!"

* * *

><p>"She seems to be clinging to you like a kid."<p>

Came a deep voice in front of Alex. She's just finished encoding the draft she made in her trailer.

She wasn't supposed to have her own trailer but the Director insists she needs to have one because of how far her apartment is. She's forever grateful for the creators too because they didn't ask when Paul requested for Alex to have her own trailer. They just nodded their head and assigned Alex to one.

She likes it though because there's already a queen sized bed, 2 bathrooms where the other one is in her bedroom and one is for the visitors, a small living room and a kitchen.

Alex looks up to see Danny leaning on the open doorway with his arms crossed and is wearing a smug smile. She rolls her eyes because all she really wants right now is a little peace and quiet and Danny is _anything _but peace and quiet.

"I think she's just trying to know what's next for her character."

She jumps when Danny throws his head back and laughs wholeheartedly. He shakes his head as he lets himself in and closes the door, "For all I know, Piper _never_ tries to do that."

The brunette crosses his arms and lets his eyes trail to Alex's 5'10 frame, "I think she likes you."

Danny jumps when it was the writer's turn to throw her head back and laugh loudly, "Now that is the most hilarious thing you have ever said to me. Good one."

"No, you don't understand," he gets up from his seat and walks around to stand beside Alex who stopped laughing when her personal space has been invaded.

"She likes you. And I mean really likes you. She doesn't just go and brush up on anyone. I've known her for a long time and Piper Chapman never gets close with anyone unless she likes them. And from what I saw she's not the only one who feels the same way."

Alex scoffs and goes back to look at the computer and clicks 'Print', "You're just being ridiculous, Williams."

* * *

><p>It was the third ring before Piper answers her phone. She's still waiting for the night shoots she'll be filming with Danny and is relieved with the distraction because she needs to wait for another two hours until she gets call to go to the set.<p>

She groans when she reads that the caller is her mother who would probably just nag her about visiting her and Piper's father in Connecticut but answers it anyway or she'll never hear the end of it.

"Hello?"

"Piper dear, how are you?"

As far as mothers go Carol Chapman tries to get her three kids to call her every week even if they're busy while her husband Bill would tell her to just let them call her instead of the other way around since they both don't know when their free time is but of course his wife would just ignore his suggestions.

"I'm fine mom. I'm just sitting in my trailer for my night shoot."

Piper is quite thankful for the crew to set up the trailer with a bed, a small kitchen where she can cook and eat. There's also a small living room where a couch has been placed and a loveseat with two chairs opposite each other.

Ever since they started doing night shoots on a regular basis Piper also began to bring some of her clothes from the apartment to the trailer so she won't have to go back and forth. It's currently raining outside which adds up to the blonde's drowsiness.

Her mother is a WASP and is damn proud of it too. Piper was almost convinced by Carol to become a debutante on her 18th birthday but the actress has a mind of her own. The mother-daughter duo argued about it for the next two weeks but eventually made up when the older blonde realizes that her daughter just wasn't up to it.

"But," Piper continues as she rests her head on the back of the couch as she closes her eyes, "I also know you didn't call me just to ask about my well being,"

Which is of course is true. Piper's mother was never known to not add anything just after asking on whether or not if her children are fine. She always has something to say.

"Well yes, dear. There's an article here that says you and Danny are having an affair." Piper's eyes opens up immediately at what her mother just said.

"Where did you get that Mom?"

"But of course I wouldn't believe it. Not until you'd tell me if it's true or not."

The firm voice of her mother on the latter part made the actress sigh out of frustration. Since she started working in the entertainment industry the Chapman matriarch would always worry about her daughter.

Piper sighs in the other line and rubs her forehead trying to will away the headache forming, "No mom. He's actually planning on proposing to his girlfriend this weekend."

"Oh thank God."

The younger blonde tries not to snicker at her mother's admission. "So how's the rest of the family doing?"

She walks towards the kitchen to get a glass of water when she hears the door open. She didn't have to look on who's at the door because she was sure it was just one of the crews telling her if whether or not she's being called to the set yet.

As she asks for the usual updates from her brothers and father she hangs up right before her mother could invite her to visit them in Connecticut.

"That must've been an awful call if you were in such a hurry to hang up."

The blonde felt her knees go weak as she hears that sexy voice again. She pretends to put her right hand on the counter for support as she turns to see Alex Vause standing there with an amused grin playing on her lips.

The taller woman was wearing a black v-neck shirt, black skinny jeans and converse. Piper bites her lower lip to stifle a moan because… damn, she's so hot.

"So," Alex continues, "Paul told me he has to cancel the night shoot because one of the lights wouldn't function and we don't have any extra light bulbs anymore."

The taller womans walks closer to the blonde who puts her glass of water down and faces turns her body towards the writer, "He also said the catering hasn't made any food for tonight."

The actress groans because that's the third time the catering service were delayed with the delivery and she's pretty sure the producer is already thinking of replacing them.

"It's a wonder some shows are still keeping them," Piper says disbelievingly as Alex sits down on the barstool, "I mean their food isn't even that great."

Alex shrugs as the blonde gets another glass from the cupboards and pours the water before putting it in front of her. She leans on the counter as she watches the woman who's sitting down takes a sip of the liquid before answering her, "Well we can't dwell on that now. At least we don't have to eat anything that's gross."

One of the reasons why the blonde likes Alex is her simple way of trying to comfort someone by being optimistic. And this is one of those times.

Piper notices that Alex is holding something that's black in her right hand and nods towards it, "What's that you're holding?"

Alex looks at the object and smiles.

"Oh… it's a headphone splitter. My mom asked my roommate to deliver it to me this morning. Whenever I'm home in Ohio both of us would sometimes use it so we can listen to whatever song is on her iPod."

Piper smiles because that's the first time she's ever heard the raven haired woman share about her own personal life.

She then surprises both of them when she asks out her next question to Alex, "Would you like to eat dinner with me? I think I've got something-"

She stops halfway from finishing her sentence because she was already opening her fridge to look what she's got inside.

There were eggs, ham, and a box of Fruit Loops cereal inside and Piper groans inwardly because of how foolish she is to think that she's bought other kinds of ingredients to whip up an edible dinner.

"Damn it!" She hisses to herself, embarrassed at what Alex would think of her.

Closing the refrigerator, she turns and smiles sheepishly at the writer, "I didn't get to fill my fridge. I only have three eggs, some ham and cereal inside so-"

Alex shrugs then and the blonde stops whatever she was going to say next which was to suggest they just dine out for tonight.

"I don't think eggs are unhealthy so maybe we can scramble it and then eat the ham. I also like cereal so we can have it as a dessert."

Piper couldn't believe her luck as Alex stands up and begins to take out the said ingredients. She couldn't believe of how perfect the woman is as the two women made light conversation and would laugh when the blonde would recount her days at Smith as they started to work together in cooking whatever was left in the blonde's fridge.

After washing the plates, it was still 8PM and Piper just wasn't ready to say goodnight to Alex just yet. She looks at the taller woman who's currently looking at the photos of the blonde's family that were placed in a small bookshelf, "Would you like to stroll around central park?"

Alex straightens up and looks at the blonde quizzically. Piper shrugs as she puts the final plate she just rinsed inside the cupboard.

"We can put your mother's splitter to good use. You know since she isn't here to do it with you."

* * *

><p>They were sitting at a park bench in central park. Even though it was cold in New York city the two women were keeping each other warm what with Alex putting her arms around the blonde as they listen to her iPod.<p>

It was the first time the writer ever felt like she belonged somewhere. In Ohio she was always bullied by rich, snobbish kids just because she would wear fake Adidas shoes and everything she owns screams poor. Here the blonde makes her feel like she's not a girl from a small town in Ohio with the help of Danny who cracks jokes whenever he feels bored.

"So what's your mother like?" The blonde asks as she hits the pause button.

Alex smiles as she remembers Diane Vause fondly. "She is actually the best mom a girl can ask for. She would encourage me to push myself to be better when I was a kid…"

She stops for awhile before continuing, "even though we were poor she always believed that I could be someone and that I can get out of Ohio."

Piper smiles as she saw how the woman's eyes beside her lights up just by recounting her mother's personality, "She sounds wonderful."

"Yeah," Alex sighs exaggeratedly and looks at the people walking past them, "but she can be a pain in the ass too. Usually nags me to get up at 6AM in the morning even on weekends."

Piper laughs as she imagines a raunchy kid resembling Alex who's grumbling while also dragging her feet from the floor.

When the blonde stops laughing the raven haired woman turns to her next and asks, "What about you? What about your parents?" was what she asks next.

She doesn't know why but she wants to learn everything about the actress who looks down and shuffles her feet in the pavement.

Piper sighs as she drops both of her hands on her lap, a blast of air coming out from her lips because of the cold.

"Before the divorce and before they got back together my dad was one of those parents who would be at every child's events. He was in every school play I was in and would go home immediately just after work so he can cook us dinner," she looks at Alex who is also staring at her intently, signaling for her to continue. The blonde feels her cheeks getting warm but it's not because of the cold but something that has to do with the woman sitting right beside her.

"After he learned that mom cheated on him though it was like a part of him died," her voice grew quiet as she recounts the things that happened to her family, "my younger brother Cal wouldn't come out of his room when dad moved out of the house. It was like all of us had our own way of coping with it."

Her voice cracked and Alex couldn't help but tighten her hold on the blonde as she listens to her, "Danny our eldest brother wouldn't come home even on the holidays saying he was too busy with college but I was sure he didn't want to see my mom. He was just so upset with her for breaking our father's heart."

The tears were already falling before Piper could realize it and tries to wipe it all away. Alex though just looks at her because she wants the blonde to vent out her anger.

"But I still tried to move on with life, you know?" She chuckles before continuing with her confession, "It was ridiculous because Mom was already drinking a lot at that time like it was as if she was the one who was being cheated on and I just thought if no one will step up then who will?"

"That was when I began to communicate with all of them until I convinced dad to eat Thanksgiving with us. It was then mom told him how sorry she was and that she never wanted to leave dad. Dad forgave her and moved back into the house after that."

When Piper finished crying in front of Alex, the taller woman just smiles at her and helps the blonde wipe away the remnants of her tears, "Feel better?"

The actress nods and smiles gratefully at Alex, "A lot actually."

* * *

><p>As they got back to New Jersey while still listening with the iPod, both women stops from continuing further when they were already in front of Piper's trailer.<p>

"So um… I suppose this is goodnight?" Alex asks as she shuffles her feet on the ground.

She doesn't really want it to end but what she's really thinking is that she doesn't want to say goodnight to the blonde yet.

Piper feels the same way as she looks at the woman in front of her. This is the first time she's ever felt this way with someone and she can't afford to lose her opportunity.

So with much needed courage, she takes the few steps leading towards Alex and places her hands behind the taller woman's neck as she leans on the tips of her toes.

Alex was frozen in place as she feels the blonde's lips brushing against her own. The feeling of those soft lips against hers was so amazing she almost forgot to breathe and willed herself to not to do just that.

When she starts to inhale though the strawberry scent of Piper's was overwhelming and it engulfs everything in her.

She wasn't sure on whether or not she should stop the blonde's ministrations but when she decides to kiss Piper back it was the best decision she's ever made. Sure, she's kissed a lot of women before but Piper's were different. It was hesitant yet demanding at the same time.

Piper moans just a little bit when Alex puts both of her hands on the blonde's waist. The taller woman seized this opportunity to delve her tongue into the actresses' mouth which made both women moan at the same time. Their tongues fought for dominance before the blonde gives up and lets the other woman take control.

When the kiss ended both of them were already panting from the wonderful sensation they've just experienced. Alex leans her forehead to Piper's and smiles at the blonde, "So tomorrow?"

Piper tries to say something as she smiles at the woman who makes her heart beat rapidly just by looking at her and whispers that one word that is full of promises ahead for them, "Tomorrow."


End file.
